His appearance coincides with National Drug Take-Back Day, when dozens of Capital Region sites are serving as locations where people can drop off their unused prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs.

"Having drop boxes available year-round in every part of the state gives consumers a safe place to dispose of unused prescription drugs, avoiding the possibility that they fall into the hands of children or others who may abuse or resell them," Schneiderman said.

The year-round drop boxes have been available since August 2012 with passage of the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act. I-STOP, in full effect since 2013, requires doctors to check a patient's history of controlled substance use in an online registry before prescribing drugs such as oxycodone or codeine, in an effort to curb doctor shopping for prescriptions by substance abusers.

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in America, and 70 percent of youth get their prescription drugs from family and friends, according to Schneiderman's office.

Painkillers are stolen by home burglars, who raid medicine cabinets for lucrative products to re-sell on the street, according to law enforcement officials at a forum Wednesday hosted by a state Senate task force at Hudson Valley Community College.

Prescription painkiller abuse is also widely understood as a gateway to heroin use, a problem that has risen in the Capital Region's cities and suburbs.

Not every county has a year-round drop-off site. In the Capital Region, there are perennial drop sites only in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington counties, according to a map on the state Health Department web site.

On Saturday, there will be dozens of options.

Albany County alone has 10 sites this year.

"We don't want them thrown out in the trash. We don't want them flushed down the toilet. And we don't want our kids tempted to take them or sell them," said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy.

Schneiderman is also expected Saturday to tout his Community Overdose Prevention program, announced earlier this month, which provides funds to equip and train law enforcement officers with naloxone.

Often referred to by the brand name Narcan, the drug can instantly reverse the effects of an overdose of heroin or other opioids, including prescription narcotics.

The COP program is being funded with $5 million seized from drug dealers, an amount estimated to equip every state and local law enforcement officer with a naloxone kit.

As of Friday, less than a month since the attorney general announced the program, 78 police departments applied for reimbursement of nearly 2,500 naloxone kits. Fifteen police departments have requested reimbursement for 961 kits in seven Capital Region counties — Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Greene and Washington, according to the attorney general's office.

Law enforcement agencies have until June 3 to apply for the program.

Each kit consists of a zip bag or pouch containing two pre-filled syringes of naloxone, two atomizers for nasal administration, sterile gloves and a booklet on the use of the drug. The cost of a naloxone kit is approximately $60, and the shelf life of each kit is approximately two years.

At the HVCC forum, state Sen. Phil Boyle, R-Long Island, a former emergency medical technician, called naloxone a miracle drug.

It's amazing to see someone who appears to be on the brink of death, revived within a minute or two of getting a shot," he said.

Editor's note: Event organizers changed the venue for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's Saturday appearance to the Albany Community Development Agency. This story was corrected to reflect that change.